


A Stranger Making Strangers Laugh

by mthrfkrgdhrwego (universalchampbalor)



Category: Professional Wrestling
Genre: 5 Things, Dean is In Over His Head, Friends to Enemies, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Strangers to Lovers, and kinda, can you believe i didn't write porn, if you count seth's role in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 05:10:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18004424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universalchampbalor/pseuds/mthrfkrgdhrwego
Summary: Dean's path from strangers to friends to something more with Roman





	A Stranger Making Strangers Laugh

**_Strangers: n. A person whom one does not know or with whom one is not familiar with._ **

When they met, they weren’t them.

Not really, anyway. Roman wasn’t  _ Roman _ . He was  _ Leakee _ , a golden boy, and Dean couldn’t  _ fucking  _ stand him. Dean wasn’t himself either, too rough around the edges, with blood still under his fingernails, teeth barely clean from all the gore. His scars were still fresh back then.

They didn’t interact much. Dean was stuck between an obsession with Seth, with Seth’s  _ title _ , with being the  _ best _ , and Regal, a man so similar to Dean yet so different, a man stained with anger and draped in a bespoke suit. Leakee didn’t really have a direction back then. 

Even if they did interact, they wouldn’t have been friends. Leakee was the kind of person Dean despised; he had everything handed to him on a silver platter, nothing more than a spoiled rich kid benefitting off his dad’s name. (Dean knows that isn’t the case  _ now _ , but back then, it seemed like a universal truth, etched in stone.)

 

**_Friendship: n. A relationship of mutual affection._ **

They didn’t get along for a  _ long _ time. For almost half a year, the Shield was held together by duct tape, stubbornness, Seth’s willpower, and desperation. They were always at each other’s throats, all bared teeth and too loud words and clenched fists. 

Eventually though, that tension crumbled. Maybe it was the title wins, or the hours on the road, the training together. Maybe it was the shared hotel rooms, the shared  _ beds _ , the late nights where Dean couldn’t sleep and Roman wanted him to.

It doesn’t matter how it happens.

What matters is that it  _ does _ .

It happens, and suddenly, they’re inseparable. Roman always gave his heart easily and Dean became like glue once he gave his trust. Suddenly, Roman’s greeting Dean with hongis and Dean’s kissing Roman’s head. Suddenly, Roman’s the only person that can touch Dean without purpose and Dean seemingly can’t go more than 15 minutes without contact.

It happens.

 

**_Admiration: n. A feeling of strong approval or delight with regard to someone._ **

The admiration was always there, in a way. They’ve always admired each other as athletes, as colleagues, as opponents. Dean’s been doing this since he was a fresh-faced kid straight outta high school with a chip on his shoulder, and Roman learned quicker than anyone Dean’s ever met. The admiration expands as time goes on, goes past the fleeting approval of each other.

They admire each other as teammates. They know they can count on each other, know that they’re always  _ safe _ if the other’s around. Dean’s pretty sure he’d trust Roman with his life. Roman’s always trusted Dean, has since their first match as a team, and he doubts anything will break that.

Eventually, they come to admire each other as people. 

Roman’s the nicest person Dean’s ever met, has been his first  _ real _ friend, one born of emotion and not necessity. He’s always there for Dean, doesn’t seem bothered by all of Dean’s rough edges even if it means he ends up bleeding. He’s diligent, smart, funny. He’s everything Dean’s ever admired in a person.

Dean isn’t the most conventional person, isn’t a  _ good _ person in some people’s eyes, but not to Roman. He’s pretty sure he gets to see the Dean that no one else gets to see. He gets to see Dean’s intelligence, hears his jokes and his laugh, sees his flaws. Dean’s  _ tough _ , has been through so much, and he still manages to be soft. 

 

**_Devotion: n. Passionate and selfless affection and dedication to a person._ **

Seth fucks it all up.

He fucks it all up with approximately 100 chairshots and a smarmy grin, fucks it up with a well-laid plan that they were too blind to see. Dean won’t admit it, but he’s pretty sure he was blinded by Roman’s smile.

The logistics don’t matter.

What matters is that Seth breaks them, and Roman’s there to pick up the pieces. He’s there for Dean, helps him back to their hotel room with bruised ribs and a battered soul. He holds Dean as he sobs, lets it get ugly. He keeps Dean from breaking his hand against the hotel room wall, keeps him from ruining the mirror, keeps him from burning anything Seth left behind.

Roman’s  _ there _ , like no one’s ever been, not for Dean, not for some street dog from the wrong side of Cincinnati. And as Roman brushes the tears off Dean’s cheeks for the third week in a row, as he helps Dean plan his revenge even when he has to deal with his own battles, Dean realizes he’d probably follow Roman to the ends of the Earth.

What’s more, he knows Roman would do the same.

 

**_Love: n. Indefinable._ **

Deep down, Dean thinks he’s loved Roman for a long time. 

He realizes it after the smallest thing. He realizes it after he watches Roman dance around their hotel room early in the morning, humming along to some song on his phone, a quiet moment that Dean intrudes on.

Thinking back, he’s probably loved Roman the whole time. 

He’s loved Roman since the first time Roman called him family, since the first time Roman bashed their foreheads together as a show of affection, since the first time Roman whispered stories into his hair to help him fall asleep. He’s loved Roman through every fight, through every save, through every title win and title loss.

And, as he looks at Roman snoring against his stomach, he knows Roman loves him too.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm dutchywutchywutchy on tumblr! Come bug me!  
> Title credit to Trevor Noah


End file.
